Collector for wires



4 Shets-Shet 1 Filed Feb. 24, 1965 INVENTOR.

KARL H. ANDREN ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 1, 1966 K. H. ANDREN COLLECTOR FOR WIRES ,Z E. Z

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 24, 1965 'WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIMIA INVENTOR. KARL H. ANDREN & TLLZM ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 1, 1966 K. H. ANDREN 3,232,451

COLLECTOR FOR WIRES Filed Feb. 24, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 nun, will] INVENTOE BYKARL. H. ANDREN A TTOENEY'f Feb. 1, 1966 K. H. ANDREN 3,232,451

COLLECTOR FOR WIRES Filed Feb. 24, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVFNTOR. KARL H.ANDREN W QTlLQQM ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,232,451 CGLLEUEOR FOR WIRES Karl H. Audi-en, West Aiiis, Wis, assignor to Artos Engineering (Iompauy, Miiwaukee, 1' is., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Feb. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 435,015 13 Claims. (Ci. 2l4l--1) The present application is a continuation-in-part of applicants cope-riding application, Serial No. 190,402, fited April 26, 1962, and relates primarily to the improved collector device for the finished conductors produced by the wire cutting, stripping and terminal attaching machine of such copending application.

This invention relates generally to improvements in the art of producing electrical conductors from wire stock, and it relates more specifically to an improved apparatus for removing successive finished conductors from the discharge end of a conductor forming machine and for collecting and arranging the same in an orderly manner.

Various machines have heretofore been proposed which are adapted to sever successive lengths of insulate-d wire from a continuous supply of wire stock and to thereafter perform such operations as end-stripping and termirial-applying to such severed wire lengths. One such machine is shown and described in detail in the copending application Serial No. 190,402 hereinabove referred to. In such machines, it is highly desirable to provide for the neat and orderly collection and discharge of the final conductors from the discharge zone in order to facilitate packaging and the like.

The present invention is concerned with the provision of an improved collection device for the orderly removal and dispensation of terminal wires or conductors from the discharge zone of conductor forming machines.

A clear conception of the construction and operation of a wire collector embodying the invention and showing the same used in conjunction with a typical machine for effecting automatic production of electrical conductors from cord wire may be had by referring to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the several views.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the discharge end of a typical machine for producing electrical conductors from cord wire stock and showing the improved wire collector of the present invention operatively positioned within the final discharge zone;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, and showing the improved finished conductor collecting the mechanism in one position;

FIG. 3 is a similar vertical section also taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1 but showing the pick-up fingers and arm of the device in another position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section through the collecting device taken along the irregular line i--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a similarly enlarged vertical section through the collector taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section through the conductor collector taken along the line 66 of FIG. 2 and showing the pick-up and transfer elements in conductor pick-up position;

FIG. 7 is a similar transverse vertical section taken along the same line 65 but showing the pick-up elements swung past their conductor transfer position and toward another pick-up position immediately prior to movement of the transfer members laterally of and toward the path of movement of the conveyor;

FIG. 8 is a further enlarged transverse vertical section through one of the pick-up members and the adjacent "ice arm of the conductor receiver at the moment of transfer as taken along line 88 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 9 is a similarly enlarged section along the line 99 of FIG. 8.

While the present invention has been shown and described herein as being especially adapted for use in a wire conductor production machine which includes wire cutting, stripping and terminal attaching zones and Where in a conveyor is provided with spaced series of wire gripping and transfer devices which include laterally spaced gripping members, it is not intended or desired to unnecessarily limit or restrict the invention by reason of such specific disclosure, and it is obvious that the wire collecting device of the present invention may be adapted to other types of machines for the handling of various types of terminal strips or conductors. It is also contemplated that the broadest possible interpretation will be given to descriptive terms used herein.

The conductor production mechanism fragmentarily shown in the drawings to illustrate the application and use of the improved collector device constitutes a part of the apparatus shown and described, in detail, in applicants copending application Serial No. 190,402. As shown in such copending application, this conductor producing machine comprises, in general, a wire cable or cord feeding device adapted to withdraw continuous cord stock from a supply reel, an intermittently movable endless chain conveyor having a series of spaced cord carriers, a cord stock transfer mechanism which includes cord gripping and conveyor loading means, a severing device for cutting successive predetermined lengths of cord stock from the continuous supply fed to the couveyor by the stock transfer mechanism, and a number of interconnected cooperating units disposed at ditierent positions or stations along the path of advancement of the cord carriers by the conveyor and being operable to successively slit, strip. stagger cut, and/or attach various types of terminals to one or both ends of each cord length.

This conductor production apparatus forms no part of the present invention and is referred to only as being one type of machine with which the improved wire or cord collection device is especially useful and to which it is readily adaptable. As illustrated, the wire collector 22 is located at the discharge or conductor unloading station 23 and is adapted to remove the successive finished condoctors 15 from the cord carriers 20 of the endless conveyor 14 as they advance past the unloading station.

The cord carriers 20 each comprise a pair of laterally spaced cord gripping members 24, 25 actuatable to selectively grip, carry and release the opposite ends of the severed wire lengths 15 as the wire is fed from the supply reel and severed, subsequently transported through the successive stations where the ends are operated upon by the units 21, and finally unloaded by the improved collector device.

As fully described in the copending application, each of the carrier clamps 24, 25 is provided with a fixed anvil 27 and a sliding jaw 23 which is normally retained in open position by a spring. The end of each slide jaw nearest to the conveyor chain is provided with a notch (FIG. 1) within which a locking wedge 123 (FIG. 2) is slidably engaged and tends to move outwardly under the influence of a spring. However, the Wedge 123 is prevented from moving until the end 115 of the jaw 28 is pressed down upon the wire cord 15 whereupon the jaw 28 will be locked into that position by the wedge. The cord will thus remain clamped or compressed between the anvil 2'7 and the jaw 28 until the carrier 20 arrives at the unloading station 23 whereupon the locking 33 wedge 123 is pushed back and the jaw 28 is released by its spring in a manner hereinafter more fully described.

The various insulation slitting and stripping and terminal attaching and unloading units 21, 22 are all mounted upon an inverted elongated channel bar 3110 carried at one end by a table (not shown) and supported at its opposite end by legs 26- connected to the channel bar by strong bracing. The several operating units are all connected to a long propelling shaft 302 which is driven through aspeed reducer, a chain drive, and a sprocket from the main drive shaft as fully described in applicants copending applications, and the shaft 302 is rotatable at precisely the same speed as the main cam and indexing shaft (not shown) and is journalled in bearings carried by the channel bar 304?. The chain drive may also be operated by a hand wheel (not shown) for manual adjustment or setting of the mechanism, and the end unloading unit 22' is disposed at the unloading station 23 while the other units 21 which may be two or more in number are located in spaced relation to and in advance of the final unit 22.

When the successive cord ribbon lengths 15 have had their leading and trailing ends disposed flatwise in the same plane and gripped by the adjacent carrier clamps 24, 25, respectively, with the severed ends thereof protruding definite distances from these clamps, the conveyor 14 is intermittently advanced to transport the cord laden carriers 29 with the looped cords 15 depending therefrom and to momentarily hold the cord lengths in the several stations or units 21 while work is being performed on their ends. ces-sive stations may include cutting and/or stripping of the insulation from one or both ends of the wire sections, terminal attachment to one or both ends of the conductor wires, and other operations.

The unloading unit comprises, in general, a conveyor clamp releasing mechanism 399, a conductor pick-up and transfer device 310, and an open ended conductor receptacle 311, all cooperating to provide a finished conductor collector 22, the clamp releasing mechanism and conductor pick-up and transfer device being operable by a multi-grooved cam 312 on the drive shaft 332.

As shown, the conductor transfer mechanism 310 has parallel shafts 313, 314 which are simultaneously oscillatable in opposite directions and are axially movable, and these shafts have pick-up heads 315, 316 attached thereto respectively adapted to engage both ends 16 of the successive conductors near their carriers 20 while these conductors are still held in the clamps 24, 25. Each of the heads 315, 316 has its end provided with an anvil 317 for receiving one of the juxtapositioned conductor ends 16, and each head 315, 316 is slotted to receive a square plunger 318 provided with a hook 319 coacting with the adjacent anvil 317 and which has a nut 320 at its end remote from its hook as shown in FIG. 8. nut 320 of each plunger 318 is engaged by one end of a compression spring 321, the opposite end of which coacts with a fixed plate 322 and the slot in the head is closed by a detachable cover.

A spring pressed latch 323 which is pivoted on a pin 324 is normally held in engagement with a notch 325 in the plunger 318, and a pin 326 projecting laterally from the swinging end of each latch 323 serves to release the same on contact with anvil 27 on carrier 20 to thereby trip the adjacent plunger 318 and cause its hook 319 to clamp the intervening cord end 16 against the adjacent anvil 317 as in FIG. 6. The shafts 313, 314 are journalled in bearings 327, 328 in the housing 30 of the collector as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and are operable for rotation and axial movement by interconnected gears 329, 330 meshing with elongated gears 331, 332 which in turn are interconnected by other gears 333 driven by a pinion 334 and a rack 335.

The gears 329, 330, have annular grooves 336 which are engaged by a shifting member 343 pivoted upon a fork The work thus performed at the suc- The' d 341 by pins 342 as shown in FIG. 2. This shifting fork 341 is operable by a link 343 secured to one end of a cam lever 344 fulcrumed on a shaft 345, and the opposite end of which carries a roller 346 coacting with a groove in one side of the rotary cam 312.

Located adjacent to the cam lever 344 is another lever 347 which is also fulcrumed on the shaft 345 and coacts with a groove on the other side of the cam 312, this lever 347 being connected by another link 348 with the rack 335 so as to oscillate the shafts 313, 314 and swing the heads 315, 316 to and fro in accordance with the timing of the mechanism.

The rotary cam 312 is also provided with a cam notch 349 which is adapted to be engaged by a roller 355 carried by one end of still another lever 356 also fulcrumed on the pivot shaft 345 and the opposite end of which is connected by a link 357 with an arm of a bell crank 358, the other arm of which is cooperable with the spring loaded conductor release plunger 3119 as depicted in FIG. 2. This plunger 309 is operable to release the carrier clamps 24', 25 by engaging and pressing the projecting locking slides 123 of the carriers 20 and thus releasing the clamping slides 28.

When the conveyor 14 transports the successive clamps 21' with a finished cord conductor suspended in loop formation into the unloading station 23, the transfer pick-up 311i approaches the adjacent carrier 29 with the heads 315, 316' swung apart as in FIG. 7, and as the conveyor 14 comes to a stop, these heads are then swung upwardly and outwardly to cause the conductor ends 16 to enter the gaps between the anvils 317 and the hooks 319. As the projecting pins 326 on the latches 323 encounter the anvils 27, the spring loaded plungers 318 will subsequently be released to cause the hooks 319 to grip the conductor ends, whereupon the carrier clamps 2d, 25 are released by release plunger 309. The pick-up shafts 313, 314 then begin their movement toward the receptacle 311, and these shafts are also partially rotated by the gears 329, 336 so as to dislodge the conductor ends laterally as well as longitudinally from within the open jaws of the carrier 20.

The finished conductor receptacle 311 has a pair of open passages 360 formed between cooperating oppositely inclined lower members 361 and a similarly V-shaped upper member 362 bolted to the conductor collector in spaced relation to the members 361. These lower members 361 have angular slots 363 therein which provide wedge shaped cam grooves for receiving the hooks 319 of plungers 313 and also have narrower similar slot-s or slits 364 on opposite sides of the slots 363 and each containing a spring pressed latch 365 for confining the finished conductors after they have entered the gap between the members 361 and 362. The upper member 362 is also provided with a central keyway 366 within which a floating key 367 retained by suitable springs 363 is confined so as to produce a drag on the successive cords 15 advancing between the cooperating members 361, 362.

When the transfer pick-up 311) with its heads 315, 316 is advanced to a position above the receptacle or receiver 22, the cam 312 and the associated gears cause the heads 315, 316 to swing toward the receptacle 311, as indicated by the dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 6, and to insert the advancing cable ends 16 of each conductor between the spaced members 361, 362 whereupon the latches 365 are pushed open by the incoming cable ends 16 against the action of the spring 371 which causes the latch 365 to snap over the wire cord to prevent displacement thereof. Simultaneously, the hooks 319 of the heads 315, 316 will then enter the slots 363, and as these hooks slide along the cam surfaces of the wedge shaped slots 363, the adjacent square plungers 313 will be forced to release the cord 15. The latches 323 will thus be permitted to enter the adjacent slots 325 by the action of the springs 372 to thus reset the corresponding head 315 for the next pickup. The passages 366 may be arranged to remain sep- I: U arate, as by provision of a divider 369 (FIG. 6), for individual collection of the leading ends and of the trailing ends of the finished conductors, or they may be formed to meet and drop the conductors into a common slot or receiver from which they may be withdrawn either manually or with the aid of a suitable conveyor.

From the foregoing detaileddescription, it is apparent that a device for unloading wires from the carrier members of a conveyor travelling in a given path and for collecting the wires in an orderly manner has been provided. The improved collector device is operable automatically and is extremely efiicient in transferring wires from the carrier members to the receiver or collector in an exceptionally fast uninterrupted manner. The device itself comprises briefly a wire transfer member having one or more relatively movable wire gripping jaws which are each swingable in an arcuate path intersecting the path of travel of the wire carrier members, a wire receiver formed with one or more open wire collecting passageways each having a mouth lying in the arcuate path of travel of one of the jaws, means for rotating the transfer members to swing the jaws in their arcuate paths of travel, means operable in timed relation with the swinging movement for actuating the jaws to wire gripping position as they intersect the path of movement of the wire carrier members, means for continuing the movement of the jaws to carry the wire away from the conveyor path, and means for releasing the jaws as they swing past the mouth of the passageway in the wire receiver. The timing of all of the elements of the improved mechanism is extremely simple, and once the Wires have been transferred from the conveyor to the receiver and collector, they are effectively retained Within a definite zone in an orderly manner.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following clairns particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention:

I claim:

1. A device for unloading wires from tie carrier members of a conveyor travelling in a given path and for collecting the wires in an orderly manner, said device comprising, a wire transfer member pivotally mounted for swinging movement and having relatively movable wire gripping jaws swingable therewith in an arcuate path intersecting the path of travel of the wire conveyed by the carrier members, a wire receiver formed with an open wire collecting passageway having a mouth lying in the arcuate path of travel of said jaws, means for swinging said transfer member to swing the jaws past the point of intersection thereof with the wire and past the mouth of the wire collecting passageway, means operable in timed relation with the swinging movement of said member for actuating said jaws to wire gripping position as said jaws intersect the path of movement of the wire, and means for releasing said jaws as they swing past the mouth of the passageway in said wire receiver.

2. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 1, wherein means are additionally provided for closing the mouth of the passageway in the wire receiver after each wire is fed thereto.

3. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 1, wherein means are provided for retaining the wires in the passageway of the wire receiver under resilient pressure.

4. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 1, wherein means are provided for continuously oscillating the wire transfer member between the wire pickup and wire depositing portions.

5. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 1, wherein the wire carrier members of the conveyor and the wire receiver lie in offset vertical planes, and means are also provided for shifting the transfer member from one of said planes to the other in timed relation with the swinging movement thereof.

6. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 5, wherein the means for shifting the transfer member from one vertical plane to another includes an elon gated gear and a cam.

7. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 5, wherein axially shiftable means are also provided for releasing the wires from the carrier members of the conveyor as the gripping jaws of the transfer device intersect the path of movement of said carriers.

8. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 7, wherein the means for shifting both the transfer member and the carrier release means includes a cam and linkage connecting said cam and said transfer member and said cam and said release means respectively.

9. A device for unloading wires from pairs of laterally spaced carrier members of a conveyor travelling in a given path and for collecting the wires in an orderly manner, said device comprising, a pair of laterally spaced pivotally supported wire transfer members each having relatively movable wire gripping jaws swingable therewith to intersect the path of travel of the wire conveyed by the carrier members, a wire receiver formed with an open Wire collecting passageway having a pair of months each lying in the arcuate path of travel of one of said jaws, means for simultaneously swinging said transfer members, means operable in timed relation with the swinging movement of said members for actuating the jaws thereof to wire gripping position as said jaws intersect said path of movement of the wire, and means for releasing the jaws of said transfer members as they swing past the respective mouths of the passageway in said wire receiver.

10. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 9, wherein the wire collecting passageway is V- shaped with laterally separated and oppositely directed mouths and the transfer members are swingable in opposite directions.

11. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 9, wherein a spring pressed latch is provided for each mouth adapted to open the passageway as the wire gripping jaws of the transfer members swing past the respective mouths and adapted to close the passageway immediately thereafter to prevent displacement of the wire deposited therein.

12. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 11, wherein means are additionally provided for exerting resilient pressure against the wires deposited within the passageway to retain the same in orderly condition therein.

13. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 9, wherein the wire carrier members of the conveyor and the wire receiver lie in offset vertical planes, and means are also provided for shifting the transfer members from one of said planes to the other simultaneously and in timed relation with the rotation thereof.

14. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 13, wherein the means for shifting the transfer members from one vertical plane to another includes a pair of interrneshing elongated gears and drive means therefor as well as a cam coupled thereto for shifting the same.

15. A wire unloading and collecting device according to claim 9, wherein means are further provided for shifting the transfer members and their jaws laterally toward and away from the path of movement of the conveyor to pick up and remove the wire from the conveyor.

16. A device for unloading wires from the carrier members of a conveyor travelling in a given path and for collecting the wires in an orderly manner, said device comprising, a wire transfer member pivotally mounted for swinging movement, a pair of cooperating wire gripping members carried by said transfer member and swingable therewith in an arcuate path intersecting the path of travel of the wire conveyed by the carrier members, at least one of said wire gripping members being moveable in a plane radiating from the pivot axis of said transfer member, a wire receiver formed with an open wire collecting passageway having a mouth lying in the arcuate path of travel of said gripping members, means for swinging said transfer member, means operable in timed relation with the swinging movement of said transfer member for actuating said moveable gripping member to Wire gripping position as said gripping members intersect the path of movement of the wire carrier members, and means for releasing said wire from said gripping members as they swing past the mouth of said wire receiver passageway.

17. A wire collecting device according to claim 16, wherein one of the wire gripping members is stationary and the other wire gripping member is reciprocable relative thereto.

18. A wire collecting device according to claim 16, wherein the wire transfer member is oscillatable to swing the wire gripping members in an arcuate path to and from one side of the wire being carried by the conveyor past the point of intersection of the gripping members with the wire and past the mouth of the wire receiver passage- Way.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 230,638 8/1880 King. 2,570,660 10/1951 Gamble. 2,661,101 12/1953 Mullan. 2,836,313 5/1958 Yeo. 3,029,494 4/ 1962 Andren 29155.55 X 3,048,281 7/ 1962 Godfrey. 3,157,911 11/1964 Campbell.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR UNLOADING WIRES FROM THE CARRIER MEMBERS OF A CONVEYOR TRAVELLING IN A GIVEN PATH AND FOR COLLECTING THE WIRES IN AN ORDERLY MANNER, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING, A WIRE TRANSFER MEMBER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT AND HAVING RELATIVELY MOVABLE WIRE GRIPPING JAWS SWINGABLE THEREWITH IN AN ARCUATE PATH INTERSECTING THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF THE WIRE CONVEYED BY THE CARRIER MEMBERS, A WIRE RECEIVER FORMED WITH AN OPEN WIRE COLLECTING PASSAGEWAY HAVING A MOUTH LYING IN THE ARCUATE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID JAWS, MEANS FOR SWINGING SAID TRANSFER MEMBER TO SWING THE JAWS PAST THE POINT OF INTERSECTION THEREOF WITH THE WIRE AND PAST THE MOUTH OF THE WIRE COLLECTING PASSAGEWAY, MEANS OPERABLE IN TIMED RELATION WITH THE SWINGING MOVEMENT OF SAID MEMBER FOR ACTUATING SAID JAWS TO WIRE GRIPPING POSITION AS SAID JAWS INTERSECT THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE WIRE, AND MEANS FOR RELEASING SAID JAWS AS THEY SWING PAST THE MOUTH OF THE PASSAGEWAY IN SAID WIRE RECEIVER. 